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THE TALES OF AYELSFARN (An Aethereal Menagerie)
(Second Edition)
Copyright 1991 by Robert Bryan Reinhardt
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Includes all original and revised poetry and prose
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The Tales of Ayelsfarn; An Aetherial Managerie I (1985)
The Tales of Ayelsfarn; An Aetherial Managerie II (1991)
Copyright 1985, 1991 by Robert Bryan Reinhardt
ISBN 0-8059-2988-6
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c2. Introduction to THE TALES OF AYELSFARN
Hello, netlanders.
I recently found the "rec.arts.poems" newsgroup and it
seems that this is the appropriate place to post my
material. I hope the format of these posts are okay, I
chose to do it this way so that (1) those people who
may want to keep a couple individual poems, do not
have to store the entire book; and (2) for continuity of
the entire book as a whole, for reference purposes.
The TALES OF AYELSFARN all combined is approximately 60
pages in manuscript form. As you will notice from the
title page, this material is from the SECOND EDITION
of the book. For those of you who have material from
the FIRST EDITION, there are only minor type-correction
changes to that text. (The FIRST EDITION was 41 pages).
Since I subsidized the publication of my book, it did not
gain wide distribution. This newsgroup is the answer to
my distribution problem. I thank all that are responsible
for my use of their bandwidth.
All of this material may be distributed freely, so long as
the material is not changed in any way, and continues to
include the title page showing the copyright notice. As
always, all rights concerning this material is exclusively
owned by Robert Bryan Reinhardt.
The following is the text on the book jacket, as written
by my publisher:
THE TALES OF AYELSFARN:
AN AETHEREAL MENAGERIE
by Robert Bryan Reinhardt
"Magic and Christianity, love and fate, fear and hope:
these are just a few of the subjects Robert Bryan Reinhardt
explores in this collection of poems. Opening and concluding
with works about Aylesfarn, a mysterious wizard who lives in
an ivory and platinum castle, the poems comprise a wide-ranging
and thoughtful "Journal of Tales."
The young poet--Reinhardt is 20--ponders eternal questions
and problems of life in poems such as "A Look Ahead" and
"Inner Rumblings," and expresses the pain of love in "In Tears
and Out of Love" and "A Soul Unclad." In "Summum Bonum" and the
final prose work, "Ayelsfarn and the Final Judegement," he writes
about his strong Christian faith.
His works range from the simple--in "Dear Cousins" he
tells readers of their charms--to the metaphysical and complex in
"Logick Within a Circle of Symmetry" ("...ever seeking to find
an equanimity/Among smooth passion, coarse calculation, and
sound conclusions").
Historic images color much of Reinhardt's work: he draws
on ancient Greek myths, traditional Christian motifs, and medieval
adventures and language in his poems.
Several of the thirty-two poems in this collection have
been published in poetry anthologies."
DEDICATION
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This book and much of the poetry within is dedicated to and inspired
by: Kelly Ann Hamrick (circa 1984-1985...and beyond).
About the Author
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"Robert Bryan Reinhardt was born on December 5, 1964 in Baltimore,
Maryland. He is a graduate of Edgewood High School, Edgewood,
Maryland. He entered active duty in the U.S. Navy in June of 1983
and attended basic training at Great Lakes, Chicago. He attended
Operations Specialist Class "A" School, graduating with honors and
finishing number one in his class and number two in his graduating
group. Petty Officer Second Class Reinhardt currently serves on
the USS Virginia which is homeported in Norfolk, Virginia." (Jacket
design by Elliot Hoffman)--ISBN 0-8059-2988-6
***Authors NOTE:
The publisher wrote that in 1985. For those who are at all curious
I have been out of the Navy since (March 1988). I'm not really
interested in going into a long speech about myself. The above
was only included to (1) give you a background on the book itself,
and (2) since I'm going to do this, I want to do it right, and
put everything into this posting at one time.
On the material itself, the FIRST EDITION was written when I
was between the ages of 15 to 19 years old. The new material
added into the book for the SECOND EDITION was written when I
was between the ages of 19 to 21 years old. (At the time of
this posting I am 27 years old...yes, I haven't written any
new poetry/prose for about 5 years).
Some of the material in the SECOND EDITION may seem to be
inconsistent with the tone and attitude of the FIRST EDITION.
That is because, (1) I began writing lyrics to rock songs for some
friends who were in bands at the time, and (2) because my attitude
did change...obviously that is reflected somewhat. Today, I am
a product of both of those "attitudes." I hope that you will
enjoy these poems, I am told that there is something in my
collection for everyone.
The following is a listing of the Table of Contents, in order to
give you a sense of continuity of the entire book taken as a whole:
*****Chapter 1- Selected Poetry (Jeanne Theresa)
In tears and out of love
Know ye
Woe to that rough grain of sand
A soul unclad
Letter in memoriam
*****Chapter 2 - Selected Poetry (Kelly Ann)
A season's offering
Image of you
Desperation
Torn
A shell of sorrow
Trifles I & II
Tossed emotion
A more complete poise
*****Chapter 3 - The Windstone Madrigals
The windstone
Inner Rumblings I & II
Logick within a circle of symmetry
Poet
*****Chapter 4 - The Bible Belt
Summum Bonum
A look ahead
Ayelsfarn and The Final Judgement
*****Chapter 5 - The Aetherworld
The Elder Ayelsfarn
For the aetherworld
An account of my bereavement and journey to
To the aetherworld
Shivering child
The tale of the dead man
Enhanced dream
Moonlight dream
O'Bryan
*****Chapter 6 - The Reflections
Time to reflect
Ashes all around me
To all graduates
Query upon first sight
Eden by the bay
Dear cousins
Nuke'm 'til they glow
The bubble
*****Chapter 7 - The Mysteries
Beware
Both of us fools
Fighting in the streets
One small gift
Entropy
The land of Cockayne
The midnight howl
Time to get away
The Talons of Time
*****Chapter 8 - Miscellany
Quatrains: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X
Meter value formula (satire)
*****Chapter 9 - Rock and Roll
All night lover
Subway
Old friends
